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Lefty Darling Aung San Suu Kyi Opened Labour HQ

Labour’s Rushanara Ali has written to the Foreign Secretary defending Aung San Suu Kyi amid the violence in Burma. Suu Kyi is a darling of the British left, she was given the red carpet treatment by Labour when she opened the party’s then London HQ five years ago. The longtime Burmese opposition leader, who is now the de facto ruler of the country, is the subject of growing international condemnation over the army’s brutal treatment of minority Rohingya Muslims. A petition signed by 350,000 people called for her Nobel Peace Prize to be withdrawn. Boris Johnson says the Rohingya crisis was “besmirching” the country’s reputation…

Before her fall from grace, Suu Kyi addressed dozens of Labour staff when she officially opened the party’s Brewer’s Green building in 2012. The love-in was gushing – Suu Kyi even mused on bringing Labour’s office “back to Burma”:

“In the end it is people who are most important, not buildings, although this is a beautiful building and I would not mind taking it back to Burma with me… the fact that you are here and have welcomed us so warmly and with genuine enthusiasm for the cause in which we have been engaged for so many decades, this is very special to me,”

Then leader Ed Miliband lavished praise on Suu Kyi, declaring her Labour’s “leader in this struggle”:

“I can think of no better person than the most famous leader of the opposition in the world, if I may say so – and the most distinguished, and the most courageous and the most brave – to open our offices. We have admired from afar, and we have supported your struggles over the past many years. We have seen the courage you have shown, we have seen the fortitude that you have displayed and we are absolutely with you in the fight for … the transition to a full democracy. We are with you every step of the way. You will be our leader in this struggle.”

Suu Kyi also addressed a meeting of the Shadow Cabinet. Given Jez’s open-door policy for dodgy visitors she’ll probably be invited back…

September 7, 2017 at 5:35 pm

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Jeremy Vine Worth Four Ed Milibands

The licence fee payer shelled out a mere £2,500 to listen to Ed Miliband evaluate toilet flushes when he sat in for Jeremy Vine on Radio 2, the Register of Members’ Interests reveals. That means Miliband bagged £500 for two hours work a day, which, to be fair, is an enormous discount on Vine’s reputed £10,000-a-week for the radio show. Vine is therefore worth four Milibands*…

Iain Duncan Smith, who took over the show the following week, is yet to declare any payment. Was he free?

*Didn’t Ed Miliband used to say he wanted to ban MPs from taking second jobs?

August 3, 2017 at 3:46 pm

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Milibands in Communication Breakdown

Double-jobbing Ed Miliband’s peak hypocritical stint as a radio presenter is finally drawing to a close. For the big set-piece on today’s show he managed to secure the time of his own brother David, who joined listeners live from New York. As with many a media moment Ed has been involved in, it all went wrong fairly quickly. The line kept dropping and David had to resort to a phone rather than broadcast quality connection. Ed finally cut the interview short, declaring “I’ll see you very soon“. Christmas if you’re lucky…

June 23, 2017 at 3:56 pm

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Ed Miliband’s Death Metal Roar

Ed Miliband just attempted to sing death-metal on Radio 2, tutored by the lead singer of Napalm Death. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/1gnZgSMU9O

— Tim Johns (@timoncheese) 21 June 2017

The same Ed Miliband who preached that MPs shouldn’t take second jobs – “we’ve got to remove any suspicion that MPs are working not for their constituents’ interests but for someone else’s interests” – is today doing death metal impressions on national radio. Ed is still the MP for Doncaster North. Rather than represent his constituents Ed has spent another day as parliament’s answer to Alan Partridge…

June 21, 2017 at 2:27 pm

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Ed Miliband: “Tell Us About Your Toilet”

In an alternative universe Prime Minister Ed Miliband is settling into his third year in office. Instead he’s talking to old ladies about their toilets on Radio 2. Oh Ed… where did it all go wrong?

June 20, 2017 at 5:07 pm

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Labour Repeatedly Tried to Do Deals With the DUP

Labour have boarded the outrage bus over the Tories doing a deal with the “bigots and terrorist-sympathisers” in the DUP. They have some nerve…

In 2010 Labour tried to do a deal with the DUP. Gordon Brown wrote a letter to the DUP leader trying to buy his support. The then Northern Ireland Secretary Shawn Woodward worked on an “economic package” to secure DUP support. This morning Alastair Campbell said a deal with the DUP could undermine the peace process. On May 7, 2010, Campbell sat in a meeting where a Labour-DUP deal was proposed. Glorious hypocrisy from Bad Al…

Ed Miliband last night blasted the Tory-DUP deal as a “coalition of chaos”. Yvette Cooper this morning says it is “troubling“. Owen Jones says: “If Labour had ever done a deal with the DUP I would have been out there protesting it”. According to the DUP’s Ian Paisley Jr, Miliband’s Labour also tried to do a deal with the DUP in 2015:

Don’t buy the rank hypocrisy of Labour’s faux outrage this morning…

H/T @wallaceme

UPDATE: Caroline Flint slaps down Yvette Cooper over her hypocrisy:

June 11, 2017 at 10:55 am

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Lone Beast Sighted in Bolsover

Dennis Skinner is under strong threat from Helen Harrison in Bolsover. Labour are not exactly throwing resources into saving the old dinosaur’s skin. Here is the Beast of Bolsover pictured campaigning alone…

Elsewhere in Doncaster Ed Miliband was pictured having breakfast alone in Greggs this morning.

Sad socialists….

June 7, 2017 at 5:40 pm

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Ed Uses the L-Word

Ed Miliband goes studs in on Theresa May:

“When PM says “nothing has changed” she is lying. If she lies about this what else?”

May 22, 2017 at 4:08 pm

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Mail Goes Easy On May’s Red Toryism

Before the general election when Ed Miliband proposed fixing energy prices the Mail was scathing, branding it a return to the bad old days of 70s socialism from “Red Ed”. Today the Mail welcomes Theresa May’s return to the bad old days of price controls from the Red Tories…

Hat-tip: Matt Zarb

April 13, 2017 at 8:28 am

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Miliband Dances While Syria Burns

During the 2015 general election campaign, Ed Miliband suffered from a major – and very understandable – public perception problem: everyone thought he was weak. To prove his balls, the Labour Party leader claimed to have stopped a war. He told Jeremy Paxman in a leader’s debate:

“This government proposed action in Syria. The bombing of Syria, right? I was called into a room by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, because president Obama had been on the phone – the leader of the free world, right? I listened to what they said, and over those days I made up my mind, and we said no, right? I think standing up to the leader of the free world shows a certain toughness I would say.”

This was Ed Miliband’s ‘I’m-tough-enough’ pitch: ‘I’m tough because I opposed military action in Syria…’

Ed Miliband did successfully sabotage British government intervention in Syria – however the way he went about it was anything but tough or principled. On Thursday August 29, 2013, Miliband derailed David Cameron’s plan for UK airstrikes on Assad targets by majority of 13 votes. During an eight hour debate, the former Prime Minister’s voice faltered and he looked moved to tears when describing horrific videos showing the victims of Assad’s chemical attacks writhing in agony. Tough-as-nails Milband said of the emotional Prime Minister: “I believe he has to make a better case than he did today”…

This was a betrayal and hypocrisy. When Miliband was first “called into a room” with David Cameron, he gave the Prime Minister his assurance that if he could appease Labour backbenchers then he would support military action. Over the week that followed Miliband prevaricated on that decision, asked for concession after concession, and – as was briefed to the Guardian – generally “buggered around” the government. Miliband led Downing Street on a merry dance during a time of crisis and uncertainty:

Miliband said he wanted to see the government’s legal advice. Cameron published it.
Miliband said Britain must go to the UN and also get weapons inspectors’ reports. Cameron did.
Miliband said he wanted two votes before military strikes. Cameron agreed to two votes.

At the eleventh hour, when the level of backbench disquiet became clear during a shadow cabinet meeting, Miliband changed his mind. He shafted the Prime Minister by phone the night before the crucial vote. As was pointed out at the time: “His overriding concern was the internal politics of the Labour Party”…

On Friday Ed Miliband appeared on Channel 4’s The Last Leg. He danced in a stupid skit to A-ha’s classic Take On Me. Miliband said on the show:

“The horrible scenes, ghastly scenes… obviously make me think about it [whether blocking military action was the right decision], I have thought a lot about it and whether it was the right thing to do but I think in the end, in my heart of hearts I do feel it was.”

Ed Miliband still uses his Syria sabotage to claim he’s tough. As he was during that crucial week in 2013, Miliband is still dancing whilst Syria burns…

April 10, 2017 at 10:46 am

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Rich’s Monday Morning View

April 10, 2017 at 7:47 am

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Miliband’s HS2 Opposition Opposed By His Wife

Ed Miliband has secured an adjournment debate tonight on HS2 where he will argue against the line going through his Doncaster constituency. Miliband has been on quite a journey – he used to say he “absolutely” supported the project before u-turning because it will “disrupt” his constituents. Will it disrupt relations with the wife too? Ed’s other half Justine Thornton QC has for the last few months been working as counsel for the Department for Transport, defending HS2 as it faced public opposition at Lords committee stage. MPs needing lines to take before Ed’s debate tonight can read Justine’s evidence on behalf of DfT and HS2 here. Mr Miliband attacking HS2 in the Commons, Mrs Miliband defending it in the Lords…

February 6, 2017 at 3:26 pm

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Ed Miliband Makes It Big In America

Is he tough enough to fight off the flu?

Proud of new role in international health promotion. When America sneezes….#flulabour

— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) December 19, 2016

UPDATE:

December 19, 2016 at 5:15 pm

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Miliband Mocks “Marxist” May

Last year the Tories condemned Miliband’s energy price freeze as “Marxist”, now it looks like they’re adopting the policy. Ed has got a point…

October 5, 2016 at 10:31 am

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Ed Miliband Endorses Owen Smith For the Second Time

Sitting in his charming living room and wearing a lovely new shirt, Ed Miliband has endorsed Owen Smith for the Labour leadership. The Smith campaign are making a big deal out of it, lining the endorsement up with all major broadcasters. Except it is a repeat endorsement. Ed backed Owen three weeks ago in a statement on his Facebook page. Always a good sign when a campaign recycles an old announcement and no one remembers it being made in the first place. Poor old Ed, still struggling to get his message out after all this time…

August 9, 2016 at 3:16 pm

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Who is on Question Time Tonight?

Possibly actually worth watching.

May 26, 2016 at 8:00 pm

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Edstone Receipt Finally Revealed

So Labour have finally got their act together and released the receipt for the Edstone. The Electoral Commission are investigating…

January 22, 2016 at 2:51 pm

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Labour Report: Don’t Blame Ed

The word “Miliband” is mentioned just nine times in Labour’s 35 page report on why they lost the general election. Apparently it was all the media’s fault:

“Ed Miliband faced an exceptionally vitriolic and personal attack. Even before he courageously took on the public concerns that led to the Leveson enquiry, elements in the news media seemed determined to try to destroy him.”

Guido did warn Ed that would happen, to his face, in 2013.

Was his position on immigration the problem?

“Ed Miliband made a thoughtful, and well regarded, speech on the issue”

What about his role in the campaign?

“Ed Miliband performed well during the campaign – his “people’s question times,” early in 2015 laid the groundwork. In the election campaign itself, when for the first time, the public had more of an opportunity to see Ed Miliband for himself, his standing markedly improved.”

Maybe it was the TV debates?

“It is perhaps the most eloquent tribute to Ed’s qualities, that – having boasted for many years that he ‘could not wait’ to be judged in a head to head encounter with Ed Miliband, – with only a few weeks to go, the Prime Minister did his utmost to run away from the challenge altogether”

Finally, we get a home truth:

“Despite his surge in 2015, Ed Miliband still wasn’t judged to be as strong a leader as David Cameron”

And the rest is history…

January 19, 2016 at 3:19 pm

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God Bless the Girl: Mrs Miliband Main Breadwinner

I am absolutely delighted to be appointed Queen's Counsel https://t.co/fELq2V81kf

— Justine Thornton (@JustineT) January 11, 2016

Congratulations to Justine Thornton, aka Mrs Miliband, who has been appointed Queen’s Counsel. The rank will be bestowed by Lord Chancellor Michael Gove at a ceremony next month. The new gig means that, if she wasn’t already, Justine will certainly now be the main breadwinner in the Miliband household. The average QC earns in excess of £250,000-a-year, and the best take home over a million. Good news for Ed, whose £130,000 salary as Labour leader dropped to a relatively modest £67,000 when he quit in May. As the woman most responsible for the family finances, you won’t hear Justine whinging about a “millionaires’ tax cut”…

UPDATE: Marina Wheeler, Mrs Mayor of London, also makes silk. She is however still some way behind Boris’ reported £600,000 earnings from City Hall, Westminster, the Telegraph and his publishers…

January 11, 2016 at 1:10 pm

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Would You Walk A Mile In Jezza’s Shoes?

The auction for a pair of Jeremy Corbyn’s shines shoes has reached a staggering £230. The Labour leader’s knackered size 11s are being sold on eBay to raise money for the Small Steps Project, a charity that helps children living in landfill sites.[…] Read the rest